The Member of Parliament for Anyaa Sowutuom, Dr. Dickson Adomako Kissi, has urged the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to formally protest the Electoral Commission’s (EC) re-collation of some parliamentary results if they believe there are irregularities.
This call follows the EC’s re-collation of results at its regional office in Accra, which led to the declaration of results in seven constituencies, all in favour of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The affected constituencies include Ahafo Ano North, Techiman South, Ahafo Ano South West, Nsawam Adoagyiri, Obuasi East, Okaikwei Central, and Tema Central.
The NDC has raised concerns over the re-collation process, calling it illegal and stating that they would not accept the results.
Speaking on GHOne TV, Dr. Kissi noted that while the Electoral Commission has the responsibility to carry out its work, disputes should be taken to court for resolution.
He pointed out that re-collation has occurred in the past under previous EC leadership, including that of Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, and that this is not the first time the EC has made adjustments to declared results.
Dr. Kissi explained that the key to resolving disputes lies in the availability of “pink sheets” from every polling station, which contain the total vote counts.
He emphasised that both political parties have copies of the same data, making it possible to verify results and avoid discrepancies.
Dr. Kissi suggested that if the NDC is serious about their claims, they should present actual numbers to back their protest.
He said, “The Electoral Commission does its work and when there’s dispute, eventually we go to court. Re-collation or collation has been done before by Afari Gyan, this won’t be the first time the EC has made changes to a declaration. Now I think that the beauty of the level of EC work is that every part has a pink sheet so of there are 141 polling centres, every party has a duplicate of the work that was done. So when you present that and the EC present theirs, I think there should be no contention, there shouldn’t be. Because if at my polling centre, where I vote, the EC has the total score, the NDC has, NPP has and the other parties, when we present our work, it cannot be at variance.”
He added, “That’s the beauty of the current status quo which Afari said ‘elections are won at the polling stations and no other place. So I think that many of us believe that what happened at the collation centre was the EC showing what their pink sheets were, and the NDC or NPP showing their and once they collaborate, that these were the numbers, then there’s no contention.”
“If there’s contention in terms of over-voting or a few other issues, then you refer to the ballot itself and do a recount to ascertain if that issue is with the ballot or the counting or if there’s over-voting. I would hope that the NDC can maybe protest with actual numbers, if they are unable to protest with actual numbers, I think it’s much to do about nothing.”
